


Mending

by orphan_account



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Bandaging wounds, Blood, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Minor Injuries, Old work, Sappy, Sparring, Training, repost
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-09
Updated: 2014-02-09
Packaged: 2018-01-11 17:16:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1175723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ven wants to be stronger. Aqua reminds him of how strong he already is. Repost.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mending

There was no training for today. Master Eraqus had given his apprentices the day off. Terra had taken advantage of that to sleep most of the day away. Ven, anxious about having nothing to do, couldn't get his mind off of training. He was years younger than Terra and Aqua, and his skills were behind theirs. Even an extra day might push him a little towards closing the gap between them. But...he wasn't testing much without someone to test himself against. Which is why he ended up at Aqua's room. 

Aqua looked up from the book on spells she was studying. "You want me to help you with training? But Ven, we don't have to train today."

Ven bit down on his lip. He took in a deep breath before speaking. "I know...but I want to get better. I feel like I'm wasting my time. And the Master is always so overprotective with me. He never lets me do a lot of the stuff you and Terra get to do."

"Well, we have done this longer." Ven figured Aqua might say something like what the Master would say. But unlike the Master, he knew she would actually listen to him.

"Aw, come on, Aqua. Please!" Ven begged, making the cutest face he could.

Aqua rolled her eyes and smiled. "Alright."

"Yes!" Ven's eyes lit up. "And don't go easy on me. I need you to be as hard as you can on me."

Aqua smirked. "If you think you can handle it."

They practiced for several hours until Ven was about ready to collapse. While she had fought harder against Ven than she typically would, she knew the gap between them was still too large for her to use her full strength. She'd worn out Ven plenty enough as it was. "I think that's enough for today."

"O-okay..." Ven caught his breath. His entire body was aching. This had been what he wanted, but he'd forgotten about how much it was actually going to hurt. He wiped sweat off of his forehead. His whole body was drenched in it to the point his clothes were clinging to his body. 

"Ven, you okay?" Aqua dusted off Ven's jacket. She noticed several cuts on Ven's arms and legs. Maybe she should have toned it down more than she thought. "You're bleeding. I'm sorry. Here, let me clean you up."

"I'm okay. It's not as bad as it looks. Don't worry about it." 

"These could get infected. We need to clean them." Aqua took hold of his hand. "Taking care of yourself is part of being a keyblade wielder. It's no use if your skilled at fighting but can't manage to take care of yourself. Who will you really be able to protect then?"

Ven sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right. But shouldn't I be the one doing it then?"

"Part of taking care of yourself means sometimes letting someone else do that work for you." 

Ven nodded, understanding the sentiment behind what she was saying. They walked together back to the castle. Back in Aqua's room, Ven had removed his dirty clothes. He'd gotten his pajamas, but figured it'd be better to change into them after Aqua had attended to his wounds. Aqua had gotten the first-aid kit while Ven had been busy with that. It would have been more comfortable that way, but not wanting to risk getting any blood on her bed sheets, Ven sat down in Aqua's wooden deck chair instead. She readied a wet cloth. 

"Are you ready? This is probably going to sting." 

"I'm ready." 

Aqua gently wiped away the blood on each of Ven's scrapes. There was a particularly deep one on his knee. Ven flinched when she touched it. A part of her heart hurt knowing she was the reason Ven was hurting like this, but she knew this came with the territory. They were part of a trade that involved physical combat. They were going to get hurt like this from time to time, just in training. Still, seeing the wounds up close, the blood soaking the washcloth--it hurt to see. It was not something she could brush away either. Being attentive to the feelings of others and pain was also part of being a keyblade wielder. 

"Ven, you don't have to try so hard at this." She sifted through the kit for the right size bandages. 

"I know that." Ven looked over the cuts on his body. He noticed a few bruises he hadn't seen before. "But I wanna be strong, as strong as you and Terra."

"You don't need to be as strong as us right away. It'll come in time. There's only so far you can push your body. Besides, if you need extra strength, we'll both be there at your side to help you."

"That's exactly the reason. If I were stronger, then sometimes I could protect you and Terra. I want to be your strength like how you two are mine. But I can't with as weak as I am now."

Aqua dropped the bandages. She stood up and gave Ven a tight hug. "Ven, you're already part of my strength. You have been for a long time. Do you really think I don't rely on you every day?"

"But how? I'm nowhere near as strong as you. I know you were holding back when we fought, and look at me." Ven hugged her back, clinging to her as tightly as she was clinging to him. 

"Ven, that's not what's most important and you know it. What counts most is right here." She pulled away and pointed towards his heart. "Here, the three of us are the same strength. You're part of the reason I'm so strong here. Our hearts lend each other strength. My strength is part of yours and yours is part of mine. Without you, a piece of mine strength is gone. Every day we spend together, everything we share...those moments all make me stronger. And it's because you're there with me. I need you."

Ven smiled. "I know. I'm sorry. I guess I'd lost sight a little of what's really important."

"It's okay." Aqua noticed one of Ven's cuts. "Oh, I had better finish what I was doing. It's already getting late. We should both be heading off to bed soon."

Aqua carefully covered each of Ven's wounds, taking extra care with the one on his knee. When she finished, she picked up Ven's discarded clothes and the stained cloths. "Don't worry about these. I'll wash them before bed. Do the bandages feel alright?"

"Yeah. Thank you, Aqua." Ven started putting on his pajamas. "Oh, and Aqua..."

"Yes?"

"Thank you for spending today with me. I'm really glad we spent that time together."

"Me too. Though I wish it hadn't resulted in so many bandages needing to go on you." She blushed, still internally cringing at all the blood she'd had to clean off. 

"Well, you know. Training is training. I'm okay, really. Oh, um. I was wondering...if there was something I could do for you. As a thank you present for talking things over with me."

"Ven, you don't need to do that."

"But I want to." Ven tugged on part of Aqua's sleeve. "Your clothes got ripped in some places. Why don't you let me fix them for you?"

"Well, if you want to. I'll leave them for you in the morning. For now, you need to get to bed. We do have training tomorrow. You should get all the rest you can." Aqua played with Ven's hair. 

"Okay, but promise you won't stay up too late yourself." If he didn't remind her, he knew she probably would. Aqua was very dedicated when it came to completing tasks. Sometimes, a little too much so.

"I won't." Aqua kissed Ven's forehead. "Now, off to bed."

Ven's face turned red. "Aqua, thanks again. Goodnight."

"Goodnight." After Ven had gone off to his room, Aqua attended to the clothes. She replayed their personal training over in her mind as she washed, analyzing Ven's movements. She grinned. "He's moving faster than I did."


End file.
